


Untranslatable

by 13th_blackbird



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Thrawn - Timothy Zahn
Genre: Academy Era, First Kiss, First Time, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sickfic, eli is a cinnamon roll, made-up Chiss courtship rituals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 05:04:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11730072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/13th_blackbird/pseuds/13th_blackbird
Summary: Thrawn gets sick, Eli helps out. Which leads to an interesting night.--“It’s really quite...." Thrawn said a word in Sy Bisti."Charming," Eli translated automatically, then blushed harder. “Stop flirting with me while you’re delirious,” he said, because that was the only word for what Thrawn was doing. “It’s really…disconcerting.”





	Untranslatable

Eli Vanto was in serious trouble. 

Not just because he'd lost his quiet, obscure, boring career path. It was also because he was actually starting to like the new track his life had taken. The subtleties of it, even the dangers, were, he had to admit, exciting. And, even more troubling, was how he'd come to regard the man who was responsible for getting him into this mess in the first place. 

Thrawn was fascinating. He was subtle, intelligent, creative, surprising...and extremely frustrating. Eli was watching his face during a tactics lecture one afternoon (a class that Thrawn hardly needed, he thought) and trying to catalog the flickers of expressions that occasionally crossed the Chiss's face. Eli had come to recognize "amusement" (the slightest turn upward of Thrawn's thin lips, a certain glint to his red eyes that in anyone else would be raucous laughter), "annoyance" (very hard to discern, it was all in the hands), and "plotting" (his neutral expression because, Eli thought, it was obviously his natural state). 

He realized a moment too late that Thrawn had fallen silent, waiting for Eli to translate some technical term. He hoped it hadn't been that long; the Chiss's expression was neutral. 

"Flux capacitor," Eli supplied hastily. 

"Looks like your droid's wearing out, alien," snickered a cadet from the back of the room, a particularly smug guy named Thorne from Corellia who, Eli thought, had a face that ached to be punched. "Time for a replacement for a model that's not from the ass-end of the Galaxy."

This kind of thing still happened regularly, if no longer often since Tuohy and Orbar had "disappeared" to Skystrike. The instructor ignored it and Eli felt the odd mixture of impotent rage and bone-deep weariness he always felt when things like this happened. He wasn't even supposed to be here, on Coruscant. He tried to keep his face blank as the other cadets either laughed or looked away awkwardly -- which was as good as he was going to get here, he knew. Not an outright show of support, but at least not hostility. 

When Thrawn calmly finished what he was saying, giving no notice to the cadets who had spoken or laughed, Eli saw something different flicker in his impassive red eyes. His gaze locked with Eli's for a split second, and for a moment, Eli felt his face heat. 

_Oh hell_ , he thought. _I've been staring at him for too long. I've been staring at his_ mouth _. Oh, hell, he can see in the  infrared, so he knows I'm blushing._  

That thought was followed closely by a vivid mental image that made his entire body heat. Hell. He was just fascinated by the alien, he told himself. Obviously anyone would be. But this was more than that. He was...attracted to? Thrawn? 

_Oh, no._

Mercifully, the lecture ended, and Eli took his time packing up his things. Leaving in a group was a good way to "accidentally" trip or have something of his stolen. One of the other cadets nervously smiled at Eli as Thrawn stood patiently waiting for him. 

"Thorne's an idiot," the cadet said sympathetically. Eli had noticed him, a tall, sandy-haired guy with a Coruscant accent. Just his type, usually. "You did the right thing, not giving him anything to work with."

"Yeah, I guess," Eli said, warily. He tried to keep his Lysatran accent to a minimum, but he could hear the twang in "guess" in comparison to the other cadet's smooth, clipped tones. 

The cadet smiled, and it didn't seem to hide any malice. "A couple of us are going slumming in the Lower City tonight. Want to join?" He gave Eli a once-over that was clearly an invitation for more than bar-hopping, and for the thousandth time that day, Eli found himself blushing. It had been so long since he'd been with anyone, but it just didn't appeal with this guy, good-looking as he was. 

"Thanks," Eli said. "I wish I could, but I've got so much work to do tonight..."

"All right," the cadet seemed a little stunned that Eli would turn him down. "Some other time, maybe? See you around."

As they walked back to their quarters, Thrawn said, calmly, "You were uninterested in Cadet Thomsen’s offer of --?" 

"Companionship," Eli translated. The Sy Bisti word Thrawn had used didn't directly translate to that, though. It had overtones of innuendo Eli didn't want to explain, so he was hoping it was just a mistake on Thrawn's part. Not that Thrawn had ever made one before, a treasonous voice in his head whispered. 

"Um, I mean, he didn't ask you to come, and you were standing right there, so--" Eli continued. 

"It is not my intention to isolate you from the other cadets," Thrawn said. His accent sounded a lot more pronounced today, Eli noticed. Closer to when they'd first met than it had in a long time. "I don't wish you to be --" 

"Miserable?" Eli translated with some surprise. Another rather flowery Sy Bisti word, its true meaning a lot stronger than 'miserable'. More like, 'lonely,' or even 'joyless' with an implication that his happiness had been taken from him, rather than just not being present. 

He was doing a lot more translating today than he had in a while, too, he realized. Eli narrowed his eyes at the Chiss, wondering if he was trying to do...something. What, Eli couldn't fathom. But Thrawn looked placid as ever. Even slightly concerned, if Eli was reading his face right. He made a note to himself to add this one to his library of Chiss facial expressions. 

"I'm not," Eli said. "Miserable, I mean."

"You spend much of your time alone," Thrawn pointed out. “This is not your expected —“ he paused, clearing his throat. “Where you expected to be.”

“You didn’t seem to mind your exile,” Eli said, then wondered if that was too much. 

Thrawn nodded. “I enjoy solitude.”

Eli sighed, “Well, I don’t mind it so much, either. It’ll be different after the Academy, and two and half months isn’t that long.” 

“Indeed,” Thrawn said. 

“Dinner?” Eli said, feeling awkward. Maybe this interest in Eli’s wellbeing was a part of some larger plan, or just another one of Thrawn’s bizarre interests (of which Thrawn had many. So far, Eli had had to answer a lot of questions about building construction in Coruscant, the emperor’s rise to power, and in secret, the Jedi order — those topics  made some sense, but then there’d been the week when Thrawn had been obsessed with farming techniques and beekeeping, neither of which served any military purpose Eli could see.)

“No, I, too, have work to do,” Thrawn said absently, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I will see you at our quarters.” Eli nodded and turned to go to the mess hall, brushing against the Chiss as he did so. The thought of the other man’s warm hand on his occupied his thoughts for the next hour and he barely tasted whatever slop they were serving. 

Something, though, was nagging at him about the day. Something more than his personal revelation about Thrawn. Something was off. 

_His hand was warm,_ Eli realized. Chiss ran a cooler body temperature than humans; Eli had noticed that before. He ran through the day in his mind again. The accent, the additional translations, skipping dinner. 

Eli hurried back to their shared quarters to find Thrawn lying in bed. Eli noted that he’d taken an additional blanket from Eli’s own rumpled bed. 

“Are you… _ill_?” Eli blurted out in disbelief. It was just so out of character for the composed, calm Chiss. But, he supposed, they weren’t actually creatures out of legend. Just another normal species. Who got sick. And needed medical care. _Oh, gods._

“I am fine,” Thrawn said, voice muffled from under the blankets. If they hadn’t known each other for the past few weeks, lived together — if Eli hadn’t been studying Thrawn’s every expression for days — Eli would have bought it. 

“No, you’re not,” Eli said. “You didn’t eat, you’ve been asking me to translate all day—“

“I am having trouble concentrating on Basic,” Thrawn admitted, switching to Sy Bisti with what sounded like relief. His voice was slightly hoarse, now that Eli was listening for it. Or that he was no longer trying to hide it. “The fatigue is pronounced.”

“What are your other symptoms?” Eli pressed. 

There was a pause. “This is not something to worry about, Eli. I will be fine after a night’s rest.” 

“I can’t convince you to go to sickbay?” Eli said.

“They will not know how to treat a Chiss,” Thrawn pointed out, reasonably. “Additionally, our position here is precarious enough. I do not wish to show weakness.” 

“This is a common illness among your people?” Eli asked. 

Thrawn sighed, obviously catching on that Eli wasn’t going to leave him alone until he got some information. “The Emperor will not hold you personally responsible for my wellbeing,” he said. 

Eli blinked. He hadn’t considered the consequences from the Throne if the Emperor’s little experiment went wrong. “That’s not what I’m worried about,” he murmured, half to himself. _Well, it’s part of what I’m worried about, now,_ he amended to himself. “Just answer my questions. Please.” 

“Yes, it is a common illness among my people. Similar to influenza in humans,” Thrawn said. “My symptoms began a few days ago and have become worse. I estimate they will last another day or two—“ Eli gave Thrawn a look, and he continued, “They include joint pain, headaches, blurred vision, trouble concentrating, fever, and sore throat. May I stop talking and sleep now?” 

“I just have one more question, sorry,” Eli said. There was, now, real misery in Thrawn’s voice. _A few days of this,_ Eli thought. _And even I finally noticed. I wonder how bad it actually is._ “How do I treat it?”

“It is not your concern,” Thrawn said, turning back over and pulling up the blankets. He somehow managed to make it look dignified. 

Before he could stop himself, Eli rested the back of his hand on Thrawn’s forehead. Useless, since he didn’t know what he _should_ feel like, but he was definitely warm to the touch, and slightly sweaty. The few times they’d touched (accidentally and much pored over by Eli), Thrawn’s skin had been cool and dry. 

Eli frowned. “How high is your fever?” 

“High,” Thrawn muttered. Was it Eli’s imagination that Thrawn was leaning into his touch? 

“Then it _is_ my concern.” 

“I can take some human drugs,” Thrawn said, after a pause. “A pain reliever would not be unwelcome.” 

“Something to lower your fever?” 

“Human fever reducers are not calibrated for my body temperature.”

“Right,” Eli said. _I am so fucked,_ he thought. 

 

—

 

Eli laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. He’d found a suitable pain reliever, according to Thrawn. Who might have been Chiss, and therefore supposedly an expert on his own species, but who had no medical training to speak of and might have been delirious when he read the label. Pulling from his childhood memories, he’d given Thrawn a cold towel for his head. Thrawn had done his irritated face when Eli had come up with it, but had sighed with pleasure when Eli laid it on his face. He’d convinced Thrawn to drink some water, at least, though food of any kind was a nonstarter. That was about the limit of his nursing skills. He’d given up after Thrawn insisted that rest was the only thing that would really help. 

_My life is really, really strange, these days,_ Eli reflected. His eyes started to close of their own accord, when Thrawn muttered something. 

“What?” Eli said, his voice rough with sleep. 

Thrawn said something again, low and hoarse, then he moaned. Quick and soft, like he was barely containing it. 

Eli sat up, looking over at Thrawn, who had shoved off his blankets and was curled into a ball, shivering. Eli was at his side before he could think. 

“Hey,” Eli whispered, pulling the blankets back up. He felt Thrawn's forehead again. It felt about the same, maybe a little warmer than before. If Thrawn was a human, would he be hot to the touch? Was this a high enough fever to be really worrying? 

Thrawn opened his eyes. It was hard to tell in the dim room, and his eyes were dark to begin with, but he looked dazed, unfocused. He said something, and Eli realized he must be speaking Chiss. It wasn’t Sy Bisti or any language Eli recognized. 

“I don’t understand,” Eli said, frustration rising in him. He wanted to help, damn it. If their situations were reversed, he realized, he would have trusted the Chiss to solve the problem. Thrawn was strange and confusing, but he was competent. Skilled. Eli would have trusted him with his life. Eli felt clumsy and stupid in comparison. 

Thrawn grabbed his arm, his grip shockingly strong, “Where?” he said, in Basic. 

“The Imperial Academy,” Eli said, also in Basic, trying for a soothing tone. His heart was racing. “On Coruscant.”

“Eli,” Thrawn breathed. “Not exiled, then?” He sounded genuinely surprised, and…afraid? 

“No,” Eli whispered. “Not exiled.” _I enjoy solitude,_ he thought. _Right, but_ _how long was he alone?_

“That’s good,” Thrawn said, simply. His voice was harsh. Eli could feel Thrawn’s pulse racing through their still clasped hands.

“Yeah,” Eli agreed. “Should I…get a medic now?”

“No!” Thrawn said, gripping harder. His hand felt like a vise clamped around Eli’s wrist. “Don’t go.” Then something in Chiss. 

“Okay,” Eli yelped. “Okay, I won’t. You’ve got to…let go, though.” 

Thrawn relaxed his grip slightly, muttering something. Eli sighed in relief. The place where Thrawn had gripped him ached and burned, but he ignored it for the moment. “What was that? Do you want something?” He bent closer to Thrawn, trying to make out the words. Some were in Basic, some in Sy Bisti. 

“Mine,” Thrawn said, voice slurring. “Don’t go.” 

_Mine?_ Eli exhaled. The word had been in Sy Bisti — really, it was a totally unsuitable language for trade, with its shades of meaning and intensity. The way he’d used it was possessive, something for lovers to say to each other. Eli blushed so hard he felt as feverish as the Chiss. 

“You do that often,” Thrawn said, speaking Basic, voice almost normal. There was just enough of a dreamy edge to it that Eli knew he still probably didn’t know what he was saying. “Your face heats when you are embarrassed or aroused.”

“It’s a curse,” Eli said, ignoring _aroused_ for now. “Most people in my family blush easily. My skin’s dark enough that it’s not really noticeable. To people who can’t see in the infrared spectrum.” 

“ _I_ can,” Thrawn said, smugly. Eli smothered a laugh. “It’s really quite...." Thrawn said a word in Sy Bisti. 

"Charming," Eli translated automatically, then blushed harder. “Stop flirting with me while you’re delirious,” he said, because that was the only word for what Thrawn was doing. “It’s really…disconcerting.” 

“Then when can I?” Thrawn said, as though this was a reasonable conversation for an officer to have with a subordinate. 

“If you remember any of this when your fever breaks, any time,” Eli said, not knowing whether it was the lack of sleep or the Chiss’s strangely vulnerable state that made him bold. _Terrible idea, Eli. Go ahead and get involved with this genius alien who’s ruined your life._ He hadn’t had that many relationships since joining the Navy, but he was certain that this one in particular would be a huge mistake. But, what the hell. Here he was. “I wouldn’t, ah, turn down your offer of _companionship.”_ He used the Sy Bisti word. 

Thrawn muttered something, then without fanfare, fell asleep.

Eli spent the remainder of the night half-asleep, perched by Thrawn’s bed. Every few hours, he was awakened by moaning, or muttering in Chiss. He reassured Thrawn that he wasn’t in exile. He applied cool compresses and rearranged the blankets. He massaged the crick in his stiff neck when he started to fall asleep sitting up. He’d never been so tired, he thought. 

Sometime around dawn, Thrawn threw the blankets off again. “Eli?” he said. “I was not completely honest about my feelings toward solitude, when you asked me about my time in exile.” He sounded almost normal.

“Mm?” Eli managed. His eyes felt like someone had scrubbed them with sandpaper. “Yeah, I figured.” 

“I am glad to have escaped,” Thrawn said, simply. “To no longer be alone.” 

“Me too,” Eli said, before he could stop himself. 

Then, there was just the sound of even breathing. Real sleep, not whatever fits of unconsciousness he’d had before, Eli thought. Relief flooded into him so intensely that he realized how terrified he’d been. He trailed a hand over Thrawn’s face. Cool and dry to the touch, maybe a little warmer than it should have been, but not nearly as bad as it had been. The Chiss didn’t stir. 

Eli had the presence of mind to compose a message to Deenlark getting them both out of duties for the next two days before he, too, really slept. 

 

—

 

Thrawn spent the majority of their two days reprieve sleeping. They didn’t usually talk much, and Eli usually didn’t mind, but now he was constantly tense. Had he revealed too much? Did Thrawn remember what he’d said? Eli couldn’t imagine him feeling _awkward_ about anything, but maybe he regretted it. 

In any case, he was relieved when they were back on their usual schedule. In tactics, he noticed an empty seat in the back of the room — Cadet Thorne, the one who’d insulted him, was missing. He mentioned it to Thrawn. 

“I believe Cadet Thorne was found to have cheated on several assignments,” Thrawn said, blandly. “And was summarily dismissed from the Academy yesterday.” 

Eli raised his eyebrows at Thrawn. “You _believe_?” he said.

“I will admit: I _know_ ,” Thrawn said, and allowed himself a small smile. He refused to say anything else on the matter. 

Later that evening, Eli was working on some of the reading he’d missed when Thrawn interrupted him. The Chiss had been quietly watching him for at least ten minutes, not saying anything, and Eli’s muscles were tense with embarrassment and, if he was honest, arousal. “Eli, you are left-hand-dominant, are you not?”

“Uh, yeah,” Eli said, absentmindedly marking something on his datapad. Questions like that were commonplace these days. Sometimes he got an explanation, sometimes Thrawn was just collecting information for seemingly no purpose at all. 

“You have been favoring your right hand for most tasks this evening,” Thrawn pointed out. 

“Oh,” Eli said. “Well…” He pulled up his sleeve to reveal the dark purple bruising, unmistakably in the shape of fingers, on his forearm. “It looks worse than it feels,” he said. Which was a lie. 

“I did that,” Thrawn said, flatly. Not a question. 

“Well, yeah, but you didn’t know—“

Eli watched as Thrawn got up and left the room without a word. He shrugged and went back to his notes. A few minutes later, Thrawn reappeared, carrying a small jar.

"I apologize for harming you," he said. He actually did seem distressed. 

"It's okay," Eli said. "You, ah, weren't yourself at the time."

"Will you allow me to see to the injury?" Thrawn asked, holding up the jar. "Bacta and a topical analgesic."

"Oh...okay." Eli held out his arm. 

Thrawn's hands were cool on Eli's skin, his long fingers gentle as he smoothed the gel onto the angry bruise. Eli closed his eyes in pleasure. 

"Although I was incapacitated at the time, I do recall our conversations, such as they were, during my illness," Thrawn said, continuing to stroke Eli's skin. "I believe that you said you would not turn down an offer of companionship from me?"

"Um, yeah," Eli muttered. "I did say that."

"I have been researching human courtship rituals," Thrawn said, covering Eli's bruise with a thin bandage. "They seem excessively complicated."

"They are, sometimes," Eli said. _Researching. Of course._ He couldn't help grinning. And also, blushing. As usual. 

"Among the Chiss," Thrawn said, his face now inches from Eli's. "We are more...straightforward."

"Straightforward's good," Eli breathed. 

"I thought that you would agree," Thrawn said, and kissed him. 

Eli didn't know what he had expected. He'd fantasized, of course, but still hadn't been prepared for all of Thrawn's subtle, focused attention to be concentrated on him alone. His mouth was cool on Eli's, his elegant hands tangled in Eli's hair, pulling on it gently in the exact spots that Eli liked. 

Thrawn pulled back, and Eli swayed forward, feeling dazed. Thrawn assessed him coolly, and that was even more of a turn-on, that steely gaze taking in his glazed eyes, swollen lips, and ruffled hair. 

Thrawn raised one eyebrow, delicate and challenging. That did it. Eli had the Chiss against the wall before he knew what was happening, kissing him hard and rough, his hands fumbling with the buttons on his uniform.  He could feel Thrawn's self-satisfied smirk even as Eli bit at his bottom lip. 

"You are not as self-effacing as you make yourself appear," Thrawn murmured in Eli's ear. Eli was gasping now, his hips bucking against Thrawn's. "You enjoy games of power and control." 

"Yeah," Eli ground out, "You've been studying me?"

"If you wish to succeed at any task, careful observation," Thrawn paused to bite the skin just under Eli's jaw, making him moan. "--is the first step." He shoved Eli then, breaking his hold easily, making it obvious that his previous acquiesence was chosen. He backed Eli to the bed and pushed him down onto it. His strength would have been terrifying had it not been so clear that he was holding back -- playing at control rather than wresting it from Eli. 

It was exactly what Eli wanted. He was so hard it was nearly painful. He reached down to touch himself and Thrawn pushed his hands down to his sides, holding him immobile, but careful not to bruise. "You are also very impatient," Thrawn hissed. 

"Please," Eli managed, letting a hint of a whine come through his voice, grinding his hips against Thrawn's. "Please touch me."

Thrawn smiled, "I plan to." Eli shivered. "You see, Eli," Thrawn continued, running his hands over Eli's chest and removing his shirt, "Your legends about my people do get a few things correct. Our single-mindedness, for one. Our devotion to duty. The obsession with executing a task perfectly."

His hands were on Eli's hips now, slipping under Eli’s waistband. Eli could barely breathe. 

"And so," Thrawn said, "we are all of those things when it comes to seduction as well. We do not just… _fuck.”_ He said the obscenity like he was tasting it, savoring it. 

“Oh, gods,” Eli said. 

“Yes,” Thrawn said. “In fact, among the Chiss, I, as the initiator of this interlude—“ He slid down Eli’s body, touching everywhere _but_ Eli’s cock. “—am wholly responsible for proving that I am worthy of your attention. If I please you, you can then reciprocate.”

“Good custom,” Eli gasped. He could listen to Thrawn _talk_ about fucking him for the rest of his life, he thought, and that would be enough. _Interlude_ , for the gods sake. And then Thrawn’s mouth was on his cock and he immediately reversed that statement. Forget _talking_. One strong, elegant hand was on his hip, the other curled around Eli’s cock. Eli moaned helplessly, twining his hands in Thrawn’s short, dark hair. It was surprisingly silky and fine under his touch. _Really good custom,_ he thought _._ He was _so close,_ and then Thrawn did _something_ with that tongue, and Eli came, gasping his name. 

“Oh, gods, yes…” he was moaning, trying to be quiet since the barrack walls were notably thin. Eli’s vision blurred as he gripped Thrawn’s head in his hands, his hips jerking, the shock of orgasm loosening the tension in his body. 

Eli felt _drunk_ with sensation: Thrawn’s cool hands on his chest, soft hair brushing his neck as he twined around him. He felt his cock twitch, already responding again. _Gods,_ it hadn’t been _that_ long since he’d last taken someone to bed, but this was insane. Thrawn pinned him with a red-eyed gaze and Eli captured his mouth and rolled him over on the bed. 

“So, I’m allowed to reciprocate now?” Eli said, breathlessly. 

“It is not—“ Thrawn started, but Eli was exploring the Chiss’s muscular chest with interest, letting a hand brush his sharp hipbone. Thrawn gasped, “—necessary, if you are tired, I—.” 

Eli grinned, “Mmm-hmm, nope, I’ll take my turn now, I think.” His accent twanged, control forgotten in the heat of the moment, and he felt Thrawn stiffen under him. “You like the way I talk, huh?” he whispered into Thrawn’s ear, making it a point to drawl the words.

Eli was rewarded with a hitch of breath from the Chiss. “It is…” He rolled his hips experimentally, and Thrawn actually moaned — quick, muffled — into Eli’s neck. “—it gives Basic a kind of rhythm it generally lacks. I find it very intriguing.” 

“You find me intriguing?” Eli said, sucking on Thrawn’s earlobe. 

“Ye—es,” Thrawn gasped. 

“Why me?” Eli said. It was plaintive. He hadn’t meant to ask, wanted to get back to the task at hand, but now it was out, so—

“You are intelligent,” Thrawn said. “You think you are not ambitious, but your talents would be wasted in the career track you were seeking. You are loyal. You are,” Thrawn smiled again, and Eli couldn’t help it, he kissed him again, sloppy and desperate. When they came up for air, Thrawn continued, “You are quite beautiful. I had not met many humans, but I recognized it when I saw you.” 

Eli blushed. Again. 

“I also enjoy when you blush,” Thrawn said.

“Oh, shut up,” Eli muttered, and stroked Thrawn’s cock, finally. There had been a shadow of doubt in Eli’s mind about actually having sex with an alien, mostly because he wasn’t sure if his skills in bed would translate, but everything seemed basically the same in form and function. Thrawn gasped and closed his eyes, his body stiffening with pleasure. Eli took his own cock in hand, drinking in the sight of the Chiss completely losing control. That impeccable posture, the impassive expression — all of it, gone. Because of him. 

Eli sank to his knees and swallowed Thrawn’s cock, deep. 

“Eli…” Thrawn gasped. 

Eli hummed in the back of his throat, hollowed his cheeks, swallowed again. He was good at this, he knew it, and he looked up at Thrawn through his eyelashes, watching his expression. He definitely wanted to remember this one. 

Thrawn muttered something in Chiss, yanking on Eli’s hair, as Eli had done to him. His eyes watered as the sharp pain traveled, electric, straight to his cock. He moaned as he continued working his tongue up and down. 

“Eli, I—“ Thrawn hissed. Then gasped. Eli pulled back, letting the Chiss come on his chest. 

“ _Fuck,_ yeah,” Eli panted as he came himself, for the second time in an hour, like a desperate teenager.

Thrawn pulled him close and curled around him like a cat. “I enjoy your higher body temperature,” he murmured. The fact that Thrawn was a post-sex cuddler shouldn’t have been able to shock him after the past few days of shocking revelations, but here they were.

“Uh,” Eli managed, panting. “That was—“

Thrawn said something in Chiss. 

“Translate?” Eli said, smirking. 

“Untranslatable,” Thrawn said. He was breathless, voice as impassive as it could be after all that, but amused. 

“Liar,” Eli grinned, stroking the Chiss’s soft hair and sighing. 

“Perhaps,” Thrawn allowed. 

Yeah, Eli was definitely, _definitely_ in serious trouble. And he was pretty sure he liked it. 

**Author's Note:**

> This fic has accompanying beautiful art by @kobadit on tumblr, check it out:  
> https://badkoba.tumblr.com/post/169707764078


End file.
